Citizen’s Attitudes Towards State’s Electoral Security Provision in Non-consolidated Democracies

ACCS lunch lecture

On 28 February, the Amsterdam Centre for Conflict Studies (ACCS) warmly welcomes political scientist Hanne Fjelde for a guest talk. In this talk, Fjede examines the ambiguous role of state security agents in Nigerian elections, a case that, throughout its more than two decades of experience with competitive elections, has struggled with persistent irregularities and insecurity tainting the democratic legitimacy of elections.

Date: 28 February 2025
Time: 12:00 -13:30
Location: Roeterseilandcampus - building B/C/D (entrance B/C)
Room: B9.22

The Paradox of Protection: Exploring State Security Forces’ Dual Role in Electoral Integrity in Nigeria

Fjelde et al. argue that while governments implement increased security measures in the lead-up to and during elections and deploy security forces at polling stations to safeguard electoral integrity, at the same, many governments also use security forces instrumentally to boost their electoral fortunes. This presents a paradox: the state’s coercive agents, which are best placed to protect the freedom of citizens to vote without fear and intimidation, could also be the greatest source of threat to electoral integrity. The study addresses this paradox by asking what the implications of the state security forces’ dual role in the electoral environment are for citizens’ evaluation of the quality of their elections. Fjelde et al. study this question using data from Nigeria, combining a multifactorial vignette experiment embedded in a survey of 2,819 Nigerian citizens fielded after the 2023 presidential elections, with qualitative evidence from focus group discussions.

About Hanne Fjelde

Hanne Fjelde is a Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University. Fjelde’s research focuses on the relationship between political violence and democratic processes. Her research has been published in outlets such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, International Organization, the British Journal of Political Science, Annual Review of Political Science and the Journal of Politics, among other places.